Final Detroit Lions' 53-man roster projection as 2025 offseason draws to a close
Allen Park — We’ve reached the finish line and the evaluations are complete. The Detroit Lions now must sift through all the gathered data and internal projections, paring their 91-man offseason roster to 53 players by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
As a reminder, players who started camp on the non-football injury or physically unable to perform list may remain there without counting against the 53-man tally.
The league also allows two injured players to be placed on injured reserve with a designation to return, simultaneous with roster cuts. Those two players would have to miss at least the first four regular-season games, but they won't count against the 53. This setup is different than previous years, where the player would need to remain on the roster for 24 hours before shifting to IR, temporarily eating up a roster spot.
On to our projection.
Quarterbacks (2)
In: Jared Goff, Kyle Allen
Out: Hendon Hooker
Practice squad potential: Hooker
Analysis: Sure, we could do some roster gymnastics and find room to keep Hooker on the 53-man roster, but what’s the point? With only one year under contract after this one, he provided little reason beyond the practice field to invest something so valuable into his continued development.
This is admittedly a late shift for me. I genuinely thought general manager Brad Holmes would give his draft pick a longer leash. However, after a fourth straight preseason dud, it’s become an impossible case to make.
If Hooker makes it back to the practice squad, great. That said, Holmes should rest easy if Hooker gets claimed after posting a sub-40 passer rating in three of the four preseason games, while losing two fumbles in the one he didn’t.
Allen, on the other hand, won the job with such emphasis that he provides an unexpected calm to Detroit’s backup situation. If Goff were to go down for a half or even need to miss a start, Allen’s poise and accuracy are reassuring. He completed nearly 80% of his throws in the four preseason games, posting an impressive 123.6 passer rating. The best part is it wasn’t just a bunch of checkdowns. He uncorked some pretty deep shots during the audition.
Running back (4)
In: Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montomery, Craig Reynolds, Sione Vaki
Out: Jacob Saylors, Deon Jackson
Practice squad potential: Saylors